


I Couldn't Be Your Friend

by enbyplant



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Party
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-21
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1051059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyplant/pseuds/enbyplant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sollux Captor and Karkat Vantas are new kids on campus. Sollux has always been rich and popular, so to show off his wealth he plans a huge Halloween party at the end of October. However, he knows the only way that his party will be a success is if the elusive DJ Strider makes an appearance. The only problem is Strider refuses to play for snobby douchebags who think they can throw money at him and he'll be on his knees. Even so, when Sollux sends his roommate Karkat to try to convince him, he inexplicably changes his mind...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Does Your Heart Ache When You Get Around Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Get ready for my attempt at writing ahahahaa. Also I apologise for the summary, those things are hard to write yo.

With a huff, Karkat Vantas left his room, slamming the door behind him. He was going to do what his roommate, Sollux Captor, had asked him but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. He dashed quickly down the stairs and into the lobby, only slowing down when he was out of the building and into the chill October air. He had been walking for a few minutes before he realized he had no idea where the hell he was going. Grumbling, he took out his phone and input an address. Oops. Turns out he was going in the exact opposite direction of where he needed to be. With an irritated sigh, he turned on his heel and starting heading the other way. 

Today had not been a good day for him. First, he had woken up late and nearly missed his creative writing class. Then when he went back to his room he found out Sollux had eaten the last of the ramen, which Karkat himself had bought, even though Sollux was rich enough to go out to eat every day. Sollux had promised to take Karkat out to eat sometime, or to at least pay him back so he could get some groceries, but he had a condition: Sollux wanted to throw a huge Halloween party at the end of the month. He was renting out a huge space and there was going to be an indoor hot tub, every snack you can imagine, and even an enormous space for music and dancing. The problem was that at Pacific University, the only way to have a successful party was to have the one and only Dave Strider DJ. Dave was only a sophomore, but he was already famous at that school for his sick beats. The only problem was that Dave rarely accepted jobs to play, no matter how much money was thrown his way. When he had first started out as a freshman, he had been glad to play at whatever party wanted him. But as he grew in fame and more parties started to fight over him, it became harder for people to actually get him. This meant, of course, that getting him to play at a party was even huger than it used to be.

Of course, Sollux knew that without DJ Strider his party would be mediocre at best. But when asked, the Strider had flat out refused his offer of a rather large sum of money. So Sollux had asked Karkat if he could attempt to persuade him to play, with the incentive of food hanging in the balance. Karkat had no idea how he could convince Strider to DJ. If Sollux couldn’t do it with his offer of cash, what made him think that Karkat would be able too? Whatever, at least he would get food no matter what happened.

Karkat finally arrived at what looked to be the right place, Cambridge Square Apartment Complex. Apparently Dave Strider was too cool to stay in a college dorm, and instead resided in an apartment complex just a couple blocks from campus. Karkat glanced at the directions Sollux had given him again. He needed to head to room 501, which was on the very top floor. Not wanting to take all those stairs, he instead opted for the elevator. He glanced around appreciatively at the lobby; it was actually a pretty nice place, nicer and probably more expensive the college dorms. 

When he finally reached the top floor, he paused for a moment outside of Strider’s room. Karkat wasn’t a very social person, so he always felt a bit awkward talking to anyone, especially people he didn’t know. You could call him anti-social, but… Yeah no, anti-social described him perfectly, he basically just hated most people. Regardless, if he wanted food, he was going to have to do this. He knocked at the door and waited a few moments.

No answer.

There wasn’t even a sound coming from inside, no TV or creak of a seat, nothing. Was he not home? Karkat felt sudden dread and irritation. Maybe Strider was at a class. It was already just past noon, a time when many classes started. Dammit. He should have thought about it before. He was just about to leave when he finally heard a sound from inside: a faint snoring. 

That little shit, he was just sleeping. And it was already noon! Karkat knocked again, this time more loudly. The snoring merely continued. Karkat kept knocking, steadily getting louder and louder, until soon he was practically banging his fist against the door. 

Finally, there was a sound from inside. “Shut the hell up!” a voice yelled. 

“Then answer your damn door and maybe I will!” Karkat yelled back. He was in no mood for pleasantries; he just wanted to talk to Strider then get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

“No, I’m sleeping,” came the muffled reply.

Karkat gave another loud bang in response.

“Fine, fine! Just stop that, or the neighbours’ll complain.” There was a ruffling from inside, then the sliding of a lock. 

Strider threw open the door and Karkat was just about to start right in on his spiel when he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a blond young man standing in nothing but his boxers in front of him. He was tall and skinny, with a cover of freckles over his well-toned biceps and shoulders. He had a similar smattering of freckles over his cheeks and nose, above which a pair of aviators covered his eyes. Karkat’s eyes travelled down to where a pair of black and red boxers loosely covered him, and he couldn’t help the rise of heat to his face at the sight. 

“Um, uh, what…?” Karkat stuttered, unable to speak coherently in the unexpected situation. 

Strider looked down at himself, seemingly surprised with his state of undress. “Oh, sorry if I’m not decent enough for you. You see, you happened to have interrupted my beauty sleep. I mean, it does take a lot of work to be this hot,” he said with a smirk.

It took Karkat a moment to get past his initial shock, but once he did he adopted a manner of irritation. “Seriously? You had the time to put on your fucking sunglasses, but not your pants?” Karkat asked sceptically.

Strider merely replied with another smirk. “Hey, it’s not my fault my eyes have a sensitivity to light.”

Karkat couldn’t be sure whether he was joking or not, so he decided to just ignore that last remark. “Whatever, I just wanna get this over with so I can get some damn food. My roommate wants you to DJ for his party next week,” Karkat said, getting straight to the point.

Strider gave a knowing nod. “Ah, the roommate to an arrogant douche bag, how unfortunate for you. Look, I don’t play at just any party. They’re just not my scene. It’s not the playing that’s a problem, but there’s no damn peace and quiet, y’know? You know how parties are, girls always hanging around, trying to get a piece of you.”

Karkat shook his head. And this guy claimed Sollux was arrogant? “Are you fucking serious? Putting up such a weak defence about how you “hate” girls hanging around you, when you’re obviously bragging. Not everyone’s a hot shot,” he spat out, perhaps a tad too bitterly. 

Strider raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? I thought that with your dashing good looks and amiable personality that perhaps you yourself were a ladies’ man. It seems I was mistaken though… Alright, here’s the deal.” Strider looked Karkat up and down appreciatively for a few moments. “You’re pretty cute, and not afraid to speak your mind. I like that in a man.” Here he winked, earning a glare from Karkat. “I’ll DJ at your friend’s party on one condition: You gotta be there. Obviously you aren’t the party type but hey, with my expert musical skill, I can get you to chill and have fun, don’t you worry. Alright?”

Karkat groaned. Another fucking negotiation? At this rate, everyone was going to start pushing him around. He considered refusing, but he didn’t have the money for his own groceries and he was already feeling the familiar pangs of hunger…

“Fine, whatever,” he muttered.

Strider’s grin grew wider. “Heh, alrighty then. Now, which party is this?”


	2. Does Your Body Shake When You Get Around Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do I really have to give a chapter summary, just read it already there's lots of eye-fucking okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie another chapter. Also short, gomen ;A; I'm working on the next chapter too buuuuut I also have a lot of homework to catch up on and art commissions so I'm not sure when I'll be able to have it up u.u I'll try to post weekly though.

The day of the dreaded Halloween party, Karkat could barely even pay attention in any of his classes. He kept thinking of that damned Dave Strider and being dragged to that dumb party. Strider had been right; Karkat wasn’t a party person. Sollux had thrown many parties back in high school, and Karkat rarely attended them. Even when he did, he always ended up hiding in the corner the whole time or leaving early. Parties were loud and headache-inducing, with music that grated on his nerves. He hated the people especially, all those bodies stuffed into a small space, sweaty and drunk and just awful. He’d never been to a college party, but he expected much of the same thing. After all, it’s not like any of these people actually matured.

Finally it was time for the party to begin. Sollux had told Karkat to get there “fashionably late,” at that costume was required; it was after all a Halloween party. Karkat had always hated dressing in costumes and such, but since he wouldn’t put it past Sollux to turn him away at the door even if they were roommates and best friends, he grudgingly complied. At first he had considered arriving at the party after it was over and claiming he was “Internet Explorer” but he wasn’t sure if that really counted as actually going to the party. So instead he just threw on a suit and hoped he looked like the male protagonist of a rom com. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most creative costume in the world, but it was better than nothing.

Karkat only had to walk a few blocks to get to the party, since Sollux had chosen a venue nearby so he could make sure everyone got there without too much hassle. Even from the outside, Karkat could tell that the party was big and hopping. Lights flashed from the inside of the huge building, and he could see the silhouettes of students in every window. The door opened periodically as people came and went, music and chatter spilling out into the still night each time. He finally managed to squeeze himself inside, only to be pushed and jostled about. There were a lot of people in here, probably hundreds. And apparently it was all attributed to the musical talents of DJ Strider. Speaking of the music, Karkat could tell it was coming from a nearby room, although it was loud enough that he couldn’t tell exactly which direction to head. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long to find someone he knew.

“KK!”

Karkat turned to see Sollux coming towards him, a girl on each arm and a gaggle following behind. He gave a weak smile and a little wave. He always felt extra awkward when Sollux was with girls. Actually, girls made him feel awkward in general.

“Finally you’re here. Well, is the party kickin’ or what?” Sollux asked him with an appreciative grin at his own work.

“Yeah, it’s, uh, kickin’ all right,” Karkat replied, not really meaning it.

Sollux merely grinned at his response, and then detached himself from his entourage to get closer to Karkat so only could hear his next words. “I gotta hand it to you for getting Strider to play here. I don’t know how you did it… He’s always been extremely exclusive. What’d you do, sleep with him?”

For some reason this remark really pissed Karkat off, even though he knew it was a joke. “Fuck off, asshole,” he muttered, only earning a laugh from Sollux.

“Whatever. Anyway, if you were looking for your new boyfriend, he’s playing in there,” Sollux informed Karkat, nodding his head towards the adjacent room.

Karkat just glared, then came in with his own jibe. “Yeah, well your flock looks a bit smaller tonight than usual. What happened, did they find out what a dick you are?” He gestured to the girls waiting behind Sollux.

“Yeah, well, Strider brings in quite a crowd of girls around himself. Tough competition.” Sollux even looked annoyed, but apparently he wasn’t bothered enough to get rid of Strider. His party reputation was on the line.

Karkat merely smirked, then went off to find Strider. Not because he was his boyfriend or anything, of course. He was just uh, keeping to his promise, that’s all.

The dance floor was even more crowded than the rest of the place, bodies packed tightly together and writhing in time to the music. Karkat was vaguely disgusted, but he forced himself to shove closer to the front. Dave was at the very front of the room, behind a turntable on a low stage. He was jammin’ away, a pair of red and silver headphones hanging loosely around his neck and his trade-mark aviators perched on his nose. His hands flew effortlessly over the turntables, and his body rocked and swayed in time to the music. Speaking of the music, now that he actually paid attention Karkat realized it was… really good. Karkat had never been much of a music lover, but even he could tell this was top-notch stuff. The music had a way of flowing together smoothly, but with sudden pops or breaks that left you energised and ready for more. Most club music was dull and all the same, but this… This had such a pattern and rhythm to it, yet it was so unexpected that he couldn’t help feeling like he would never hear anything like this again.

Karkat stood there in awe, simultaneously entranced by the music and Dave Strider himself. The further he went on, the more Karkat realised how into it Strider was. It was like the music was an extension of him, the way it flowed effortlessly between the two beings. His body moved so perfectly in time it was like they were one.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but before he knew it the music and lulled and Strider was now speaking to the group.

“Sup folks, this has been DJ Strider, coming at you with sick beats and sweet tunes. I’m gonna go take a piss break now though,” here there was a collective groan from the surrounding party-goers, “but have no fear, I have prepared for such an occasion and have plenty for you to listen to while I’m away. You guys have been great, really.” With a dashing smile and a flick of some switches, the music transitioned and people starting dancing again. Strider stepped off the stage, only to be immediately surrounded by a posse of girls. However, he waved them all away, pushing past them and instead heading… straight for Karkat.

Karkat’s heartbeat quickened. Why was Strider coming over here? Yeah, he had made Karkat promise that he would come to watch him play, but that didn’t mean he actually had to interact with him. For some reason just being around Strider made him nervous and slightly dizzy, but talking to him was even worse.

Karkat held his breath as Dave Strider brushed past him, not pausing for even a second. However, he somehow managed to whisper, “Second floor lounge, 5 minutes.”

It took Karkat a moment to recover from what just occurred. When he finally did, spinning around to face to direction Strider had disappeared, he was already gone. Shit. Karkat was suddenly even more pissed off at him. What the fuck was his problem? Asking him to come to some shitty party and then totally messing with his head? Karkat couldn’t even pinpoint a direct reason why he was pissed, he just was. Whatever the case, Karkat knew he had to follow Strider’s instructions. With a heavy sigh of exasperation, he looked for someone who could tell him where the fuck the upstairs lounge even was.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, quick note about the title: It's actually the name of a song by Tegan and Sara. The irony is they are lesbians who write about chicks ahahahaaa aren't I so clever omg. Also, I apologise for the shortness of the chapter, I'll post more soon uwu
> 
> ALSO!! Quick apology to those who read this befoore the edit, I totally forgot to finish proofreading this?? Wow, I'm so absentminded. I'm fixing it now though!


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